Chocolate Caramel Coconut Samoa Doughnuts

Name: Chocolate Caramel Coconut Samoa Doughnuts
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup of sour cream; 1 large egg; 1/3 cup of canola oil; 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract; 1/4 cup of brown sugar; 1/4 cup of granulated sugar; 1 1/3 cup of all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon of baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon of salt; 2 tablespoons of canola oil; 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar; 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract; 2-3 tablespoons of hot water; 2 cups of sweetened coconut flakes, toasted; 10 ounces of caramels; 2 tablespoons of whole milk; a pinch of salt

August 21, 2021

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Girl Scout cookie season is upon us. Everywhere we go, we see small groups of adorable children selling cookies that to some people (my husband) are 100% impossible to walk past without purchasing.

The problem is that there really isn’t a good reason NOT to buy them. They are delicious. They have something for everyone. They aren’t expensive and the proceeds are going towards the youth of America. See…

My favorites are the thin mints, but almost everyone that I asked, answered with “samoas”. A few years back, I made my own samoa cookies and they are easier than you’d think, so this week, I decided to turn these beloved cookies into a doughnut…

We are talking a basic baked old fashioned doughnut dipped in a chocolate glaze and topped with a chewy caramel and toasted coconut frosting that is again drizzled with chocolate right before you dig in.

They are amazing! When you bite into these bad boys, you get a bit of the crackly chocolate glaze, some tender doughnut and then the salty, chewy coconut topping. All of this comes together in a real good way.

Let’s get started…

For a step-by-step walk through of my baked old fashioned doughnut recipe, click here.

The quick version is to combine 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1 egg, 1/3 cup of canola oil, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of brown sugar in a large bowl.

Next add 1 1/3 cup of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon of salt into a mesh sifter and carefully sift the dry ingredients into the bowl.

Whisk until all of the ingredients are just combined. Fill the cavities of a greased 3 inch doughnut pan about half way and bake the doughnuts at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.

*Note: I leave my oven set to 350 degrees to toast the coconut flakes once the doughnuts are done baking. Its super easy, just toss 2 cups of sweetened coconut flakes onto a flat baking sheet and place them on the middle rack of the oven. Keep an eye on them and toss them around a bit as the flakes near the outer edges start to brown. It should only take about 8-10 minutes to toast them and once they are finished, set the baking sheet off to the side to let them cool until you are ready to use them.

These doughnuts are great! Once they are cool enough to handle, transfer them onto a cooling rack and let them cool fully before moving on. This usually takes about 30 minutes.

Once the doughnuts have cooled to room temperature, make the chocolate glaze by combining 1 1/4 cups of confectioners sugar with 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder in a small bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of canola oil, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and enough hot water to create a thick, smooth glaze. I usually use 2 tablespoons of hot water. If after mixing you find out that you added too much water and your glaze is too loose, add a little bit more confectioners sugar in until you develop the right texture. The consistency should be only a little bit looser than a classic chocolate frosting.

To achieve a similar look to the actual samoa cookie, I am dipping the underside of the doughnuts in the chocolate glaze. So, flip your doughnuts over (pretty side down) and dip the bottoms into the chocolate glaze. Return the doughnuts to the cooling rack (chocolate glaze side up) and let them sit for about 10 minutes to allow the glaze to harden.

While the chocolate glaze is setting, gather 10 ounces of caramels, 2 cups of toasted sweetened coconut flakes (instructions for toasting them can be found above), 2 tablespoons of whole milk and a pinch of salt.

Unwrap the caramels and place them into a large microwave safe bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of whole milk and microwave for 30 second increments until the caramel is fully melted and smooth.

Add 2 cups of toast coconut flakes and a pinch of salt into the melted caramel and mix to combine.

Once the chocolate glaze has set, flip the doughnuts back over and frost their tops with that chewy caramel coconut frosting. I do feel it necessary to give you a slight heads up that what makes this frosting so good to eat, also makes it a teeny bit difficult to work with initially. It is really sticky before it sets up, but work with a butter knife and your fingers and if it starts to set up in the bowl, pop it back into the microwave for 10-15 seconds to soften it back up.

Drizzle the remaining chocolate glaze over the caramel coconut frosting and get ready to meet an even better version of the already fabulous samoa cookie…

First of all, the old fashioned doughnuts is perfect for these samoa cookie doughnut hybrids. They are hearty enough that they won’t fall apart under the weight of all that caramely coconutty goodness, but still super tender and soft. Don’t skip the chocolate glaze on the underside of these doughnuts. Not only does it make them look more like the actually samoa cookie, but it adds yet another layer of delicious flavor to the overall perfection of this doughnut.

Last, but not least, the caramel coconut frosting… it is chewy, crunchy, so full of flavor and that pinch of salt adds just the right amount of saltiness to balance everything out.

If you are a fan of the classic samoa girl scout cookie (and who isn’t?), you are going to absolutely adore these chocolate caramel coconut samoa doughnuts.

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